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Fore or is that fire Next time sports commentators remark that champion Australian golfer Adam Scott is on fire, they might be talking literally.

A study out of the US shows titanium alloy golf clubs can cause fire-producing sparks if they hit a rock mid-swing.

The University of California Irvine researchers found a titanium club can creates sparks that can heat to more than 1650 degrees Celsius for long enough to ignite dry foliage if it grazes rocks.

The discovery, published in the journal Fire and Materials came as a result of Orange County fire investigators asking the researchers whether a golf swing could have been the cause of fires at two Californian golf courses.

The first in 2010 at Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine burned 25 acres and almost reached homes before it was stopped, while the other fire happened a year later at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo.

"Each golfer had used titanium-plated three irons at the course before the fire," Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi is reported as saying.

"The ground was rocky on the courses, and while everyone was wary of that conclusion it was the only solution we had."

Re-creating course conditions

Lead author James Earthman, a materials science and engineering professor at UC Irvine, says the research team re-created course conditions on the days of the fires in the lab.

Using high-speed video cameras and powerful scanning electron microscope analysis, they found when titanium clubs were abraded by striking or grazing hard surfaces, intensely hot sparks flew out of them.

In contrast, when standard stainless steel clubs were used, there was no reaction.

"Rocks are often embedded in the ground in these rough areas of dry foliage," Earthman says in a statement.

"When the club strikes a ball, nearby rocks can tear particles of titanium from the sole of the head.

"Bits of the particle surfaces will react violently with oxygen or nitrogen in the air, and a tremendous amount of heat is produced. The foliage ignites in flames."

Most golf clubs have stainless steel heads. However, a significant number being manufactured or in circulation have a titanium alloy component in the head.

Titanium heads on some clubs are designed for use in "the rough" — natural areas off irrigated fairways.

Such alloys are 40 per cent lighter, which can make the club easier to swing, including when chipping errant balls out of tough spots.